in other words, that first debate gave romney a nice bounce in the polls so the pollsters tell us. you tell me whether it's better to have it later. >> i think the president could have literally slammed the door shut on romney with a great debate performance had he won it. i think he would like to take that one back. but it is sort of the arc of all three. this is something that now that the door has been opened, romney walked through it. can he hold onto the gains he made? one of the questions i have -- all of the polls show a lot of the gains were with women. no republicans won women since george herbert walker bush did the in 1988. these are people obama could win back. biden could do it tonight. megyn: there is a theory out there by some that what we saw in the polls post the debate in denver wasn't so much a reflection of mitt romney's performance. but it was more a reflection of an ever-tightening race that's been getting tighter than a lot of pollsters told us it was for weeks leading up to that debate and this will be a close election no matter what happens tonight, no mat